George Saunders (footballer, born 1989)

George Saunders (born 10 June 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as midfielder.

George Saunders
Personal information
Date of birth (1989-06-10) 10 June 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth London, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Arsenal
Villarreal
Torre Levante
2006–2008 Espanyol
2008–2009 Damm
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009 Villarreal C 15 (1)
2009–2012 Levante B 47 (0)
2012 Eldense 14 (0)
2013 América de Cali 15 (0)
2013–2014 Fortaleza 32 (1)
2014 Unión Magdalena 13 (0)
2015 Patriotas 6 (0)
2015–2022 Envigado 131 (1)
2023 Atlético Huila 12 (0)
Total 274 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:39, 14 November 2023 (UTC)

Club career

edit

Born in London, Saunders joined the academy of Arsenal at the age of eight.[1] He moved with his family to Spain, and was recruited by Villarreal, but was released by them, going on to join Torre Levante and then Espanyol.[1] During this time he became the first British player to be called up to the Catalonia national football team.[1] Ahead of the 2023 season, Saunders joined Atlético Huila on a free transfer after seven years with Envigado.[2] In October 2023, Saunders announced on Instagram that he had retired from professional football.[3]

Personal life

edit

In October 2022, Saunders received Colombian citizenship.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Stanger, Matt (21 October 2016). "How George Saunders became the only British footballer in South America". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Atlético Huila confirmó la llegada de los primeros 3 refuerzos". lanacion.com.co (in Spanish). 28 December 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Today I've made a decision that it's been hard to make, thay say that a footballer dies twice!". instagram.com. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  4. ^ El Colombiano (5 October 2022). "El futbolista inglés George Saunders se nacionalizó colombiano". Retrieved 6 October 2022.
edit